1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary aspects of the present invention relate to an information recording medium, and more particularly, to an information recording medium having image information such as credit cards and ID cards that cannot be reproduced. In addition, the present invention also relates to a method of preparing the information recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information recording media having image information, for example, credit cards and ID cards, are often fraudulently reproduced. In attempting to solve such a problem, a variety of proposals have been made.
One approach attempts to form an image having a convex area with a printing ink and to cover the convex area with a transparent protective layer without damaging the image. However, this example needs a special toner and/or ink to form the convex area on the image surface by an image forming apparatus. Consequently, the image forming apparatus has to be specialized.
Another approach attempts to make a gloss difference on the surface of a toner image by fixing the toner image employing a fixing roller having a textured surface pattern. However, the gloss difference cannot be generated in a non-image area that has no toner image.
Still another approach attempts to adjust the degree of glossiness of a toner image by employing a heat roller having a concavo-convex surface. However, such a heat roller cannot control the degree of glossiness in a non-image area that has no toner image.
In addition, usage of a transparent sheet and a transparent medium are commonly known in the art. For example, a transparent sheet covers both sides of a printed sheet to protect the printed sheet from dirt and moisture. However, the transparent sheet can be removed from the printed sheet, allowing reproduction of the printed sheet. Further, a technique in which an image is formed on a transparent medium so as to observe the image through the transparent medium is proposed. Such a transparent medium can protect the image, but it is unlikely to reduce reproduction of the image.